More linen love: A Linen Wreath

Well, you might already know I love linen, and if you didn't know it, you know it now. (Wink.)

SO...Ever since I made a burlap wreath this past winter, modeled after how my friend Jen at Candlelit Cottage did hers, I have been thinking about using this same idea, only with linen. (Of course!) The original idea was to use an wire hanger and feed the burlap through it. But the whole time I was doing it, I kept thinking how beautiful it would look with linen...

Now I know that burlap has holes in its weave, which makes it a natural for this project. BUT linen is more loosely woven than many fabrics...and the amazing thing is, this actually works!

What you will need:

A wire hanger

Pliers

Wire cutters (I used vise grips. Whatever you use, they just need to be strong enough to cut a hanger!)

Linen, or linen "look alike"~ about 2-4 yards, depending.

Ribbon or fabric for ribbon (optional)

I will admit, it was taking so much fabric to make this I didn't know if I should even share this, as it could potentially get quite expensive. Then I thought of something: if you use a coupon or buy linen on sale at Joann's for example, it is cheaper, about 7.50 a yard if you can get it half off. BUT, if you buy the linen "look-alike" they sell, and use a coupon, it is only about 3.75 a yard. And who would ever know it was "fake" linen, with it torn into strips for this wreath? :) So I decided to show you this after all!

Now I'm all about details, so this little tutorial might seem a bit overkill for a simple wreath; but if there is any thing that drives me crazy, it's a two sentence description of how to do something.

(Small disclaimer here: most of these pictures are not as nice as I would have liked. Our dark, rainy weather was not cooperating.)

For a nice, full wreath, make sure to wash your fabric, and tumble dry. For this project, you actually want wrinkled, crumpled linen! I know it sounds weird, but when you iron it and try to use it for this wreath, it all just kind of flattens together and it doesn't look right.

(This happened to me at first. I was just kind of figuring this out as I went along.)

Rip your fabric into three to four inch width strips. I will admit, tearing linen was a little more work than other fabric, but tearing it gives it even more of a curled, crumpled look.

(I was also still experimenting with the width of the strips as you can see here!)

After using your pliers to open your wire hanger, form it into a circle.

Poke a hole through the center of one end of your first strip of linen.

Just keep poking it through, feeding it onto the hanger into folds.

When the wreath is nice and full, use your wire cutters (or vise grips!) to cut the hanger if needed and the pliers to bend/tie the ends together, kind of like this:

I put the "tied end" on the side. If it was on the top, all of the fabric wanted to slip toward the bottom. If it was on the bottom, it just didn't look right.

I used a narrow piece of the same linen to make a tie to hang the wreath. It can be easily tucked behind the wreath so you can't see it.

And now you have it: your own linen wreath!

More pictures of the completed wreath, because I have to show at least a few more of the 10,000 pictures I took of it. (Just in case it was blinking.)

Okay, I think that's probably enough, huh? Yeah...Although I could show you the other 9,994, I will demonstrate self-control here... ;)

So what do you think? Is it ugly? Boring? I'm dying to know your thoughts!

I am linking this to the "For the Love of Wreaths Party" at Domestically Speaking

as well as:

The Shabby Nest

Tatertots and Jello

Funky Junk Interiors

Under the Table and Dreaming
and C.R.A.F.T.'s Making Monday Marvelous
Freckled Laundry

I sure hope you are having a beautiful week so far!

BLESSINGS,

Jenni